What Role Does The Digestive System Play In Health?

A healthy digestive system provides a solid basis for good health. All other health parameters can be destabilized by poor digestion and nutrient absorption. The body must assimilate vitamins, proteins, vital fatty acids, and minerals from the meals and supplements you consume in order to maintain optimal health. Any treatment program you utilize will be limited if you don’t have a healthy digestive system.

Microbiome of the Gut

The gut microbiome (previously known as gut flora) refers to the bacterial population that lives in our intestines. There are tens of trillions of microorganisms in our gut microbiome, comprising at least 1000 different kinds of bacteria with over 3 million genes (150 times more than human genes). The gut microbiome can weigh between 4.5 and 5 pounds. One-third of our gut microbiome is shared by most people, whereas the other two-thirds is unique to each of us. In other words, your intestine’s microbiome is similar to a fingerprint.
The microbiome is now regarded an endocrine organ, with some even considering it more potent than the other endocrine glands, as it governs hormonal balance and controls hormone production.

Gastrointestinal Problems

The Gut and Female Hormones

The gut microbiota, as well as the adrenal glands and ovaries, produce estrogen and progesterone. Who’d have guessed that your gut had an impact on the hormones that govern your menstrual cycle?
As a result, the gut microbiota can both generate progesterone and estrogen and stimulate the reproductive organs and adrenal glands to do so. The gut flora generates all three estrogens (esterone, estradiol, and estriol), encourages the production of estriol (also known as E3, the protective estrogen), and aids in the reduction of menopausal and osteoporosis symptoms.

Estrobolome

The estrobolome is a group of genes found in the gut microbiome that code for enzymes that can metabolize toxic estrogens within the human intestine. (Estrogens are the primary cause of breast cancer, breast lumps, and other breast problems.) Simply put, the gut’s estrobolome regulates estrogen levels in our bodies by collaborating with the liver.

Dietary and lifestyle factors that have been shown to influence the gut microbiota may likewise disturb the estrobolome. Both the gut microbiota and the estrobolome have been discovered to be altered by antibiotics and hormonal contraception. Endocrine disruptors have been identified to have a major impact on the gut microbiota and raise the risk of estrogen-related disorders in foods, cosmetics, pesticides, detergents, and plastic containers. The estrobolome could be a critical element in determining how endocrine disruptors are mediated.

So, what happens if the estrobolome and liver fail to do their jobs and eliminate excess estrogen, for example?

Endometriosis, for example, is an estrogen-mediated disorder defined by the development of endometrial tissue outside the uterus as a result of high estrogen levels. As a result, estrogen dominance caused by an imbalance in the estrobolome can cause a variety of hormonal issues in women, including PMS, PCOS, infertility, mood swings, and bloating, as well as an increased risk of breast cancer and ovarian cancer.

Dysbiosis

Dysbiosis is a condition in which the healthy organisms that live in the intestine/microbiota are out of balance.
Dysbiosis has a deleterious impact on the estrobolome. Parasitic infections, bacterial overgrowth, and invasive yeast infections can all lead to dysbiosis. Dysbiosis can also be caused by hidden or subclinical inflammatory diseases that interfere with digestion.
Inflammatory foods can contribute to dysbyosis. Gluten and dairy are two classic examples. Food sensitivities are a prevalent cause of gastrointestinal irritation that goes unnoticed. Some people, for example, are allergic to gluten-containing grains like wheat, barley, and rye. Others are sensitive to lactose and/or casein, both of which can be present in milk and dairy products. Soy has an adverse effect on a large number of people. These types of hidden food reactions occur not only as a result of the food itself, but also as a result of how it was grown. glyphosate (the active chemical in “Round Up”) is regularly found in GMO foods. This, like antibiotics, kills the healthy bacteria in your gut.
In addition to the hormonal issues listed above, dysbisosis has been associated to autoimmune and/or auto-inflammatory disorders, such as IBD, metabolic disorders, such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, allergies, and neurological disorders.
Dysbiosis is caused by the use of antibiotics. Evidence is mounting that a healthy microbiome does not fully recover from antibiotics and is eventually replaced by resistant organisms. Antibiotic overuse could be contributing to the huge rise in obesity, type 1 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, allergies, and asthma, all of which have more than doubled in recent years.

What you should do to improve your gut health and hormones

Dysbiosis is the result of a single or a series of events that cause inflammation and modify your normal microbiome, which, as we discovered today, can affect your female hormones. Antibiotics, illness, stress, bad dietary habits (sugar, gluten, dairy, soy, processed foods, and eating other items you may be sensitive to), and other lifestyle variables might induce abnormal alterations in your gut flora.

Things to do:

• Get enough sleep
• Exercise regularly
• Eat a wide variety of fresh plant foods
• Take probiotics and fermented foods

Prebiotic fibers include pectin, inulin, fructo-oligosaccharides, hydrolyzed guar, larch arabinogalactan, gum arabic, beta glucans, boabab, chicory root, asparagus, dandelion greens, garlic, onions, leeks, wheat bran, and bananas.

Things to avoid:

• Refined carbs
• NSAIDs
• Stress
• Alcohol
• Antibiotics
• GMO foods sprayed with glyphosate are all things to avoid.

We discovered in this study that the gut microbiome regulates estrogen and progesterone levels in the body, influencing the likelihood of developing estrogen-related disorders such endometriosis, polycystic ovarian syndrome, and breast cancer, as well as symptoms linked with elevated estrogen levels. Unmistakably, there is a link between female hormone levels and gut microorganisms, which is why treating dysbiosis helps the estrobolome do its job of regulating hormones and keeping you healthy.

Schedule an appointment now to explore what testing can be done to determine the main cause, treat the problem, and get you feeling like yourself again if you believe you have hormone imbalances or dysbiosis.